Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) plans to brand
it like Beckham by signing an agreement to cooperate with the
former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England football
star’s company to promote its business in Asia.
The co-branding venture will focus on dining and retail,
Sands China Ltd. (1928) Chief Executive Officer Edward Tracy said at a
press conference in Macau today, without providing further
details. Las Vegas Sands last year got almost 60 percent of its
revenue from casino resorts in the Chinese city.
Sands is betting David Beckham’s celebrity status in China
will help give its brand a boost in a country where casinos are
forbidden from advertising. Earlier this year, the former
England captain said he would act as a global ambassador for
soccer in the world’s most populous nation, and the China
Football Association invited him to promote the game among the
youth.
“I miss football but I’m happy that I have something set
up and I can just jump into another career as long as I get off
the field,” Beckham told reporters in Macau today, referring to
his company Beckham Ventures as well as work on various brand
tie-ups and charities. “I’m glad that there are so many
business opportunities presenting in front of me and I can
become a businessman now.”
It’s the former footballer’s first visit to the world’s
largest gambling hub. He didn’t take questions from reporters.
Beckham retired from soccer earlier this year and remains
one of the world’s most marketable sports personalities. Forbes
magazine in June put his total earnings at $47 million, making
him the eighth-highest paid athlete. Tiger Woods topped that
list with $78 million.
The Las Vegas company’s Marina Bay Sands resort in
Singapore will also benefit from the Asia deal announced today.
Entertainment
Sands and competitors such as Melco Crown Entertainment
Ltd. (6883) are adding more entertainment shows and shopping outlets at
their Asian resorts to draw Chinese families, who offer casinos
wider margins. VIPs, or high rollers, presently account for
about two-thirds of the city’s total gambling revenue that is
six times more than the Las Vegas Strip.
Chinese tourists helped drive up Macau’s casino revenue 18
percent to 297.1 billion patacas ($37.2 billion) in the first 10
months of this year, close to the $38 billion revenue raked in
last year.
Sands Cotai Central, the operator’s latest resort which
opened in April last year in the former Portuguese enclave, has
been adding more hotel rooms. The company plans to invest
another $2.8 billion to build a new Macau resort, to be named
the Parisian, which will have a replica of the Eiffel Tower.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Anjali Cordeiro in Hong Kong at
acordeiro2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephanie Wong at
swong139@bloomberg.net
Las Vegas Sands Plans to Score With Beckham in Branding Tie-Up
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